


Flashforward

by enpitsuu



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Crack-ish?, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Near Death Experiences, blink and you'll miss it AoKise, the GoM are giant dorks in this one, there was supposed to be MuraHimu but it's way too subtle, you'll miss it even if you don't blink MuraHimu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 16:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12085236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enpitsuu/pseuds/enpitsuu
Summary: It is often said that right before you die, your whole life up until that point of time flashes before your eyes. So when Akashi is thrown into a near-death experience, this is exactly what happens. The only thing is that it isn’t the past that he sees but the future?





	Flashforward

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a fan work. I do not own any of the characters in Kuroko no Basuke. All rights belong to its creator.

It happened one Saturday evening after a meet-up for street basketball with the rest of the Generation of Miracles. Ever since that outing during Kuroko’s birthday, these meet-ups had become increasingly frequent and while it was a hassle for Murasakibara and himself to travel the long distance to Tokyo with the former often complaining that it was too troublesome but somehow always managing to turn up anyway, it was worth it simply for the challenge only playing against another member of the Generation of Miracles could pose. It also allowed them to make up for lost time from their middle school days though none of them would ever admit to this even if it was painfully obvious.

He had been walking briskly towards the train station, having booked a train ticket back to Kyoto which was scheduled to leave at half past six and it was already ten minutes past six. He had stuck around longer than intended after basketball and was running a bit later than initially planned.

Soon enough, the station came into view. He was just rounding the last corner of the block past an active construction site when suddenly, a loud sound like rubber snapping pierced through the air and a few women on the street across started screaming. Distracted by the unnatural commotion, he stopped in his tracks. This would later turn out to be a big mistake.  

“Akashi-kun, look out! Above!” A familiar voice rang out clearly amongst the screams. He frowned a little when he realized there was a dark shadow looming from above and looked up just as another snapping sound resonated and the screams intensified.

It could only have been an instant but several things happened all at once. Red eyes widened as a steel beam came hurtling towards the ground, towards _him_ , its shadow blocking out the evening rays of sunlight as it rapidly filled his entire vision. For a split second, he froze, mind completely empty save for the disturbing thought of “ _is this the end_?”

And then suddenly, the shadow and whatever thoughts he had were gone, replaced by a burst of colors. Images, like a movie playing on fast-forward, flashed unbidden before his eyes.

Inter-high. A basketball court. Kuroko and his Seirin teammates. A library or at least, a place with many books. A head of messy hair bent low over a thick tome. Stubby-looking fingers holding a pure-white lucky charm. A priest standing at an altar. A pair of hands clasped together, each bearing identical silver rings around their ring fingers.  A bright smile, familiar but not. A lean body, wrapped in his favourite silk sheets on a large bed. A beautifully framed picture of a couple sitting on the fireplace in his father’s study. His family’s garden, one of his maids passing a picnic basket to a young man who had his back turned. A face, obscured behind a dark shadow.

The shadows bled out from his vision as the colors faded and the steel beam came back into view, much closer now. Every inch of his skin prickled in response to the impending danger. Shaking the strange images out of his head, Akashi sprang into action.

In a grand show of reflexes that only a gifted sportsman possessed, he made an almighty dive for safety.

But it was too late.

Something struck his right side just below his neck, the weight taking him down with it and a searing pain erupted from the point of contact.

Everything went black.     

******************************************************

The first thing he registers when he wakes up is a chalk-white ceiling and the smell of antiseptic. He blinks a few times, squinting a little from the bright light even as his muddled brain provided him with a word. Hospital. 

“Akashicchi!”

Akashi blinks a few more times for good measure before turning to the source of the voice once his vision had focused.

“…Kise?”

“Thank God you’re awake!” Kise says, sounding immensely relieved before plopping back down on the seat he must have been occupying before Akashi woke. “We were so worried!”

 _We?_ He took a glance around the room and was surprised to find all of the Generation of Miracles present, Aomine and Kise seated to his right, Kuroko on his left, Murasakibara hulking at a corner behind Kuroko with a half-eaten _umaibo_ sticking out of his mouth while Midorima hovered at the foot of his bed holding a… white, furry teddy bear, complete with a rainbow-colored ribbon tied prettily around its neck. From the window behind Kuroko, he could see that it was dark outside. How long had he been here?

“Man, you gave us a scare there,” Aomine said in an almost accusatory tone though his face betrayed the same relief Kise’s had. “Just you wait till Satsuki gets back.”

“How are you feeling?” Kise asked.

Akashi frowned. Looking down, he noticed that he was dressed in hospital robes while a cast covered the entirety of his right shoulder from below the collarbone up until his upper bicep, leaving his right side partially immobilized. He also found that he couldn’t focus properly, his thought process disjointed, mind moving at a much slower pace than what he was used to. A stiff numbness hummed throughout his whole body leading him to (slowly) come to the conclusion that the doctors must have pumped him full of painkillers. Save for the sluggishness and the stinging pain he could still feel coming from his covered shoulder despite being so sedated, he didn’t feel too different from usual. And so he said as much.

“I am fine.”

“Seriously?! You got hit by a steel beam and you feel fine?!” The look on Kise’s face was one of incredulity. He looked ready to say more but stopped when Aomine placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Perhaps just a little sore.” To prove his point, Akashi moved to sit, pushing the sheets covering him down. Seeing this, Kise and Kuroko both sprang up to help, Kise’s half-hearted protests of “ _you should be lying down_ ” and “ _you need your rest_ ” falling on deaf ears.

When he was finally seated comfortably, he looked around the room, not letting anything show on his expression despite the throbbing in his shoulder from his efforts. One of his visitors wasn’t fooled though, to his mild annoyance.

“I’m calling the doctor,” Midorima announced pointedly before stepping out of the room, still holding onto his toy bear.

As the door shut behind the bespectacled man, Akashi collected himself, mind a little clearer now that he was positioned upright. “What time is it?”

“It’s past 10, Akashi-kun. You’ve been unconscious for a few hours,” Kuroko spoke for the first time that night. It was then that Akashi realized who the owner of the voice from earlier in the day had been.

“Kuroko, you were there?”

“Yes. I wanted to return the towel I’d borrowed from the last time so I went after you. I… never would have imagined that I would witness such a thing.” Pale blue eyes dimmed a little as he said this, recalling the unpleasant memory.

“A steel beam, was it?”

“Yes. The harnesses gave way and you happened to be right underneath it at the time. You avoided a direct hit mostly, but the edge of the beam caught you. You were really lucky, Akashi-kun. If the impact had landed anywhere more… vital, the outcome could have been much worse.”

Akashi chuckled self-depreciatively. “I never noticed until it was too late. What a shameful display.”

“Don’t say that, Akashicchi!” Kise piped up. “It was an accident! You couldn’t possibly have done anything about it, even if it was you!”

“Still,” Akashi persisted. “But it no longer matters. More importantly, why are all of you here?”

“Kurokocchi told all of us, of course! So we gathered here but Murasakibaracchi had to miss his train back though…”

“Mmhmm,” Murasakibara hummed in between bites of _umaibo_.

“I see. My apologies, Murasakibara. If you leave now perhaps you can still catch the last train. I will take responsibility for the payment—'

“Mmm, ‘s fine,” Murasakibara interrupted Akashi’s offer. “Muro-chin happens to be visiting Alex and Kagami this weekend so he’s staying at Kagami’s tonight. I explained everything and Muro-chin said I could stay too. We’ll catch the same train back to Akita tomorrow.”

“… I see. I am sorry to have caused trouble to even Alex-san, Himuro-san and Kagami.”

“I said ’s fine already. Aka-chin’s well-being comes first.” 

“Thank you, Murasakibara.”

“Anyway,” Kise continued, drawing attention back to himself. “After the accident, Kuroko called for an ambulance and accompanied you here when it arrived. Then he informed the rest of us and by the time we got here, the doctors had just finished patching you up and well, here we are now. Oh, and the hospital staff did also mention that they couldn’t reach any of your family members or relatives though so…”  

“My father is presently travelling outside of Japan. It will be difficult to contact him.”

“I see.”

“Thank you, Kuroko, for the assistance and everyone else for the concern. I have caused you all much trouble.”

“Heh, don’t fret over it, Akashicchi.”

Silence filled the room save for the munching sounds coming from Murasakibara, allowing Akashi time to digest the recent happenings now that he had been filled in on the details of what went down when he was out of commission. First of all, a few adjustments will need to be made to accommodate his current… condition. He was probably going to have to be absent from school for at least a few days and while losing the use of his right shoulder shouldn’t affect most of his daily activities, basketball however…

Just then, the door to his room opened. They all looked up expecting to see Midorima. Instead, a petite girl with pink hair stepped in.

“Akashi-kun, you’re okay!” Momoi cried upon noticing that Akashi was awake and immediately rushed to stand by his bed, next to Kuroko. She looked to be carrying some shopping bags filled with packed food and drinks from the convenience store.

“Momoi.” Akashi acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head.

“I was so _scared_ when I got the call from Kuroko. We had just seen each other a few hours ago for street basketball, I just couldn’t believe that… t-that…” She trailed off and rubbed at her face, willing herself not to cry even as tears glistened in her big, round eyes.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Momoi. As you can see, I am alright so please do not worry.”

“Akashi-kun is right,” Kuroko agreed. “Midorima-kun has gone to fetch the doctor so let’s wait for their return. Here, let me get that.” Kuroko reached out to take the burden she carried off of her. Momoi nodded her head and let Kuroko take the bags from her. The moment Kuroko had placed them on a side table, Murasakibara immediately pounced on it.

Just then, as if on cue, the door opened again. This time, Midorima was back with the doctor, a man who looked to be in his early forties judging from the fine wrinkles beginning to take shape on his forehead, and a female nurse in tow.

There was a flurry of movement as everyone got up, allowing the doctor the space and time to do whatever checks he needed to do on Akashi and at the same time giving their friend some privacy as the redheaded boy answered the questions posed to him dutifully. After a few minutes of this, the doctor moved back with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Everything looks good. This is a pretty straight forward case of trauma to the shoulder. Specifically, a fractured scapula due to high-speed impact, based on the results of your scans. Fortunately, there are no torn tissue or ligaments so surgery is unnecessary. You’ll have to keep the cast on for at least a month and we’ll have to see the progress of your recovery then before determining the next course of action. Physiotherapy might be needed as well but we shall see. For now, we’ll be prescribing pain medication to help reduce the swelling.” Everyone listened raptly as the doctor gave his diagnosis, the nurse at his side taking notes on the clipboard she held.

“Will there be any permanent damage?” Akashi asked. The air in the room instantly went tense at the loaded question on top of everyone’s minds. To their surprise, the doctor chuckled.

“You are a sports player, aren’t you, Akashi-kun?”

“Basketball, in particular.”

The doctor nodded. “I can tell from your build. Well, you’ll be happy to know that it was a pretty clean break, which basically means that the chance of a complete recovery is at about 98%. The shoulder blade is naturally built sturdier than other parts of the human body so in a way, it is perhaps fortunate that it was here rather than somewhere else which ended up with injury.”  

The doctor’s words mirrored what Kuroko had said earlier. Akashi breathed a quiet sigh of relief, feeling grateful that he had been spared from a worse outcome. He supposed he should feel lucky all things considered.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“No problem,” the doctor smiled again. “Are there any other questions?”

Akashi hesitated. There _was_ something he wanted to ask. But even in his mind, the question was bizarre enough to make him think twice. However, curiosity won in the end and he decided to go ahead.

“Yes,” he started, meeting the doctor’s eyes with a serious expression on his face. “Before I was rendered unconscious, just before the beam made contact, a rather strange phenomenon occurred. I was experiencing… visions.”

“Visions? You mean hallucinations?”

“No,” Akashi shook his head. “I believe they were different from hallucinations. It was as if a movie had been set on play before my eyes. Like flashes of memories, only they were _not_ memories. None of the visions were things that have happened before.”   

“Hmmm,” the doctor appeared to be contemplating Akashi’s words. “Sometimes when the body experiences an intense shock, it is possible for the mind to create hallucinations or illusions as a means to alleviate the pressure and to protect itself. Something like a self-preservation mechanism, you see. But your description doesn’t quite fit right with that explanation.”

“It just came to me all of a sudden when I realized the beam was headed my way and I thought that perhaps…”

And once again, the doctor surprised everyone in the room by laughing. “Well, you know what they say about near-death experiences. Seeing a tunnel of light, out-of-body experiences, having your whole life flash before your eyes. Might have been one of those, eh?”

And with that, the doctor dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand, clearly deeming it not important enough to be of concern. “If that’s all, the nurses will explain the detailed parts of your medication later but for now, please do rest well, Akashi-kun. We will need to keep you in here for a few more days at the very least, just for observation purposes.”

“…I understand.” Akashi yielded, deciding to drop the issue.

Once the seemingly happy-go-lucky doctor and his nurse had left and they were alone to themselves, everyone returning to their original positions, Kise immediately rounded in on Akashi.

“So what did you see?” There was a twinkle in his eyes, eager to learn more.

“Nothing much,” Akashi attempted to brush him off.

“Aww, come on, Akashicchi! Tell us! You can’t just mention something as juicy as that and expect me to just let it go!”

“Stop bothering him, Kise,” Midorima reprimanded. “Did you not understand the part that Akashi has just gone through a near-death experience?”

“Well, yeah, I get that but still! Aren’t you the least bit curious to find out what it could have been?”

“It is quite intriguing… I would love to collect data on that.”

“Right?! Momocchi agrees too!”

“This _obento_ is delicious too but isn’t there any snacks?” Murasakibara complained as he munched on the food Momoi had brought.

“There is! The store ran out of _umaibo_ but I got Pocky instead. Is that alright, Mukkun?”

“Sacchin is the best!”

“So based on what the doc’ said, Akashi had his whole life flash before his eyes?” Aomine ignored Momoi and Murasakibara in favour of hypothesizing Akashi’s strange experience.

“I believe that normally refers to your whole life up until that point of time, Aomine-kun. But the thing is Akashi-kun said his visions were not from his past memories,” Kuroko added thoughtfully.

“Kuroko! Not you too!” Midorima looked exasperated that they were still talking about this at all.

And then everything went south as they all started bickering about Akashi’s supposed ‘visions’.

Akashi merely watched, hiding a small smile. It seemed the morose mood from earlier had lifted at the doctor’s declaration that he was most likely going to make a full recovery. He was tremendously relieved himself, glad that he would still be able to play basketball. And then suddenly everything went quiet as all of them turned on him, cutting him off from his internal reflecting.

“So tell us, Akashicchi! What did you see in the visions?” Kise demanded. Aomine and Kuroko looked expectant, Momoi looked torn between curiosity and uncertainty, Murasakibara merely continued to dig into the bag of food, a single Pocky stick poking out of his mouth (was he even listening to the conversation?) while Midorima had his head turned away in disapproval but didn’t say anything more.

Well, he supposed there was no harm in sharing some of the milder details. They had all taken the time to stay by his side throughout this ordeal and he truly was grateful for that. 

“For one, I saw us playing against Seirin in an Inter High final.”

“Huh? But Rakuzan has never played Seirin in an Inter High final—” Momoi began, looking confused.

“Precisely. Hence, I mentioned that none of the visions were things that have happened.”

“Whoa! What do you think that means, Aominecchi?”

Aomine snorted. “That means the doc’s right the first time and Akashi’s hallucinating! There’s no way there would be an Inter High final without Touou in it!”

“I hardly believe that proves anything, Aomine-kun. It sounds perfectly plausible to me.” Kuroko stated flatly, pale blue eyes bearing fire as he stared at the darker boy in heated challenge.

“You wanna have a go at me, Tetsu?!”

“I can take you on anytime.”

“Hey, are we playing a match? Count me in! You’ll let me join your team, right, Kurokocchi?”

“Kise! Whose side are you on?!”

“Mmm, Pocky is so good.”

“You are all sidetracking from the issue,” Midorima interrupted.

“Shut up, teddy bear!”

“Wh-what! This happens to be the lucky item for Cancers today—!”

“What else did you see, Akashi-kun?!” Momoi practically shouted above all the other voices. Akashi figured it was a good thing he had been warded in a single room or they would definitely be bothering other people with the amount of noise they were making. But then again, they could probably be heard from outside anyway so they were all going to be thrown out at this rate if they continued to keep up the racket.

“First of all, you are disturbing the other patients.” Immediately all of his visitors save Murasakibara (he definitely wasn’t listening) looked ashamed and shrank slightly. “Secondly… it is quite difficult to explain. Most of the visions were merely… still images or things which hardly made sense to me. I saw people. Some, I knew and some, I have never seen in my life. I saw places. Again, some, I knew and some, I have never been before. But even if we focus on only the familiar, I am certain that none of the things I saw were events that had taken place before. Like the Inter High match.” He trailed off. While what he said was mostly true, there was one more thing he hadn’t mentioned to the rest yet. And he didn’t intend to.

There had been a single constant in most of his visions.

Almost all of them had included a young man. It was always the same person, Akashi was sure of it. But for some strange reason, the man’s face was always concealed or covered in the shadows. He had no idea what it meant or why the man’s face was the only thing hidden in the otherwise clear string of visuals. What he _did_ know was that his heart did funny flips and a strange warmth would fill him every time the man appeared though he certainly didn’t know what _that_ was supposed to imply. Not to mention that one image with the priest. That was most probably... Akashi’s ring finger twitched involuntarily at the memory.

“Akashi-kun.” Kuroko’s tone was serious, cutting into Akashi’s musings. “This is just a wild guess but… perhaps what you saw was not the past, but the future.”

Everyone stared. Nothing was said for a good one minute, the silence so still they could hear the sounds of a baby crying a few rooms down. 

“You mean… like a premonition?” Kise said slowly.

“Maybe. That would explain why Akashi-kun’s visions included things like people and places which were familiar and yet, the circumstances surrounding them were unfamiliar.”

“What the hell, that’s just…” Aomine scratched the back of his head, brows furrowed, apparently at a loss for words. His other hand unconsciously drifted to slide around Kise’s waist.

“It is certainly unheard of. But cheating fate itself is a rare occasion to begin with,” Midorima murmured with a nod of his head. “Perhaps this is a side-effect of the Emperor Eye?”

“If it’s Akashi-kun, somehow it feels possible,” Momoi commented.

Kise was in awe. “Oh my God! So your eyes can see the future now, Akashicchi?! Like, literally the future?! Whoa! Do you think you could see mine?!”

Midorima’s temper tipped over. “Of course he can’t! Don’t be ridiculous!”

“You’re the one that said it was a side-power of the Emperor Eye!”

“I said side-effect!”

“Oh, now you’re just being petty, Midorimacchi!”

“Huh? We ran out of Pocky…”

“Wait a minute, Tetsu! Are you implying that the next Inter High final _will_ be between Seirin and Rakuzan?!”

“I don’t have to imply anything, Aomine-kun. The results will speak for itself.”

“Tetsu!!”

And they proceeded to start squabbling again in one big, noisy fray. Sure enough, a nurse burst in soon after telling them all off for being too loud and then promptly chasing them out since visiting hours were over anyway.

Once everyone had said their goodbyes with various promises to come visit again and left, Akashi found himself alone to his own peace. He leaned back in his bed and contemplated Kuroko’s words.

The future, huh?

If Kuroko was right and what he had seen was indeed the future, then the young man in his visions must be someone really important. Subconsciously, he covered his left hand with his right albeit with slight difficulty due to the cast restricting the movements of his right arm, and rubbed the bare skin on his ring finger feeling strangely now as if something was missing there.

Try as he might, he had no idea who the mysterious young man was, the mist shrouding the face in his visions refusing to clear.

_Who are you?_

******************************************************

A few days had passed since Akashi had been admitted to the hospital with his injury and nothing too eventful had happened. Some officials had visited to ask for details of the mishap to facilitate investigations into the construction company which had been responsible for the steel beam. He had also managed to contact his father in Europe and explained the accident, to which his father had curtly informed him that legal action will be taken against the construction company for negligence. He had also informed his school and made arrangements so that his Student Council President duties were taken care of in his absence. The basketball club had been informed as well and while Shirogane-sensei had accepted the situation easily as long as Akashi returned after making a full recovery, it had taken him a much longer time to assure Mibuchi that he was okay, he wasn’t dying or losing a limb, and that he wasn’t lonely all by himself in a hospital at Tokyo. He had frequent visitors after all, though this was something that had initially left Akashi himself surprised.

On the first day after he had been admitted, Momoi, Aomine and Kise had returned bringing with them some novels and basketball magazines (and a rather racy magazine courtesy of Aomine which had ended up being thrown back in his face by Momoi). On the second day, Kagami and Kuroko had visited. On the third day, it was Midorima and Takao. Even Murasakibara had called to check in on him and to tell him to “ _eat more to recover quicker_.”     

Akashi was grateful for the inpouring of concern and well-wishers and with the constant stream of visitors, time passed fairly quickly. Today, he had Kuroko with him again although unlike the first time, the shadow was currently without his light.

“Say, Kuroko,” Akashi began suddenly, looking up from the novel he had been reading and catching the other boy’s attention. The smaller boy had been playing a dash game with funny looking characters on his phone before he was interrupted. “Do you think there was any meaning in those visions I saw?”

Akashi had been thinking about it for the past few days. Things like whether the visions were real, whether they were going to come to pass eventually, whether they were something that could still change or even whether he had completely imagined the whole thing up and had meant nothing at all. He had already given up trying to figure out who the mystery person in his visions was.  

“Why do you ask, Akashi-kun?” Kuroko looked at him intently, the game in his hand forgotten. “It is unlike you to dwell on uncertainty. Or was there perhaps something you saw which is of significance to you?”

Kuroko was certainly an astute one. Akashi considered the question but it didn’t take long to reach an answer, memories of a certain shadowed figure and strange sensations forcing him to face the music. It came almost too easily. “Yes. Yes, there was.”

There was a long pause. And then Kuroko sighed. “…I don’t know if there was any meaning in seeing what you saw, Akashi-kun. Despite what I’ve said, I don’t know if what you saw really is the future or whether it was even anything meaningful. What I do know is that if it is important enough to you and that you truly desire it, then you’ll just have to take matters into your own hands and make sure that it turns into a reality. Regardless of what you saw, we are the ones with the power to mold our own futures and if it’s you, I’m sure you can do it.”

Akashi smiled at the other boy. He supposed Kuroko was right. There was no point dwelling in the unknown for now. If ever it came to a point in life where he really wanted something, then as Kuroko had said, he would do anything in his power to seize it and make it his reality. It was no different from what he had been doing all along up until now.

“You are right, Kuroko. I probably knew it all along but perhaps I just needed someone to actually say it. Thank you.”

Kuroko smiled. “You’re welcome, Akashi-kun. More importantly, aren’t you being discharged tomorrow? Will you be going straight back to Kyoto?”

“No, I will stay at my family home here in Tokyo and move back to the Rakuzan dorms during the weekend.”

“I see. Do you need help with discharging?”

“I will be fine on my own.”

******************************************************

Akashi picked up the small backpack which his maids had sent to him to pack the little things he had gathered in the hospital room which had been his home for the past few days. He had already traded in his hospital-wear for a simple T-shirt and jeans, glad to be in the comfort of his own clothes once more. Giving the room a final once-over, he stepped out and made his way to the entrance.

The check-out procedures were already completed, Akashi having already filled up the relevant forms and attached the relevant authorization letters from his father (since he was still a minor) earlier in the morning, all the medication he needed until his next check-up already safely packed away. He couldn’t wait to leave the hospital and get back to ordinary life.          

He was almost at the entrance where his ride home was waiting for him when suddenly he heard loud footsteps approaching fast. He had barely registered someone shouting “watch out!” before a black blur bowled right into him from a blind spot on his left side and knocked him off his feet, ultimately causing him to land on his butt on the cold marble floor of the hospital lobby. The fall itself wasn’t too bad, but the impact had jarred his right shoulder, which was still in a cast, quite roughly and a resulting pain had lanced through the injured area.

Stars exploded in front of him at the sudden shock of sharp pain. Even through the agony, a feeling of irritation was bubbling in him as a voice in his own mind scorned him for not being able to sense the incoming danger _again_ and he vowed to retrain his skills once he was fully recovered. He must really be losing his touch if the Emperor’s absolute foresight was failing him so often like this.  

Distinctly, he heard a voice coming from beside him, pulling him back into the present. “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to! W-wh— A-a-akashi?!”

Blinking away the stars, Akashi set his eyes on the source of the voice and apparently the cause of his current predicament. He recognized Seirin’s school uniform.

“You are… Furihata-kun?”

“Oh my God! Your shoulder! How could I— I’m so sorry!" The other boy was babbling, looking extremely distressed at having caused further harm to an already injured person.

“It’s… fine.” No it’s not really fine, but Akashi was polite and he didn’t want to cause a bigger scene than they already have, noticing that everyone in the lobby now had their eyes on the two of them and some nurses were already making their way towards them.

He made to get up. Seeing this, Furihata who had been on his knees, quickly held onto his left arm and helped him up into a standing position.

“Are you okay, Akashi-kun?” A middle-aged nurse whom Akashi recognized as one of the nurses whom had been caring for him had made her way over to the pair, shooting a non-discreet glare at Furihata.

“I am fine. My shoulder was spared from any damage, fortunately.” Akashi gave her a charming smile. “It was an accident. This is my… friend from school.”

The nurse gave Furihata a deadpan look as if she couldn’t believe Akashi had such an inept friend, making the boy shrink where he stood. Thankfully, she relented.

“Alright, if you say so. Do take good care of yourself, Akashi-kun. I certainly hope there won’t be any more accidents. Akashi-kun has had quite enough of them already.” She said this with a pointed look at the brunette. She flashed Akashi one last smile as he thanked her before leaving to return to her duties.

When she left, Akashi turned to Furihata. “Are you alright, Furihata-kun?”

Furihata did not answer. The other boy had paled considerably from what was probably a combination of his own guilt and the nurse’s stern words. He had his eyes trained on the ground and didn’t seem to have heard Akashi speaking to him. Conscious of the curious looks he and Furihata had garnered at the lobby, Akashi sighed inwardly. 

“Shall we move somewhere else?”

When Furihata still did not answer, Akashi tugged on one of the other boy’s hands, which were still wrapped tightly around Akashi’s left arm and patiently repeated his question. As if finally realizing where he was and what he was doing, Furihata released Akashi’s arm in a panic and nodded at the suggestion to go somewhere more private.

They ended up at the hospital garden. It was a simple courtyard with grass and paved walkways at the back portion of the hospital facing a rather rundown, low-rise apartment block. It was late afternoon and there weren’t too many people or patients around so the atmosphere at the garden was peaceful and quiet. Akashi chose an empty bench in a shaded area near some bushes and sat down, gesturing for Furihata to do the same which the other silently complied with.

“So, Furihata-kun,” Akashi began slowly, taking in Furihata’s instinctive jerk at the sound of Akashi’s voice. The boy still looked to be in shock and Akashi didn’t want to aggravate his distress, even if said boy had just crashed into him not too gently. “What brings you here? Are you visiting somebody?”

The question seemed to stir awareness into Furihata and the boy finally looked up, meeting Akashi’s gaze. He blinked owlishly and then, as if realizing that he was staring, he turned away and started to shift nervously, gaze directed everywhere except for Akashi’s face as he stuttered out his next words. “..I-I… came to visit you.”

“Me?” Akashi was taken by surprise. Out of all his unexpected visitors, this really took the cake.

“Y-yeah. I heard about the um, accident and everything from Kuroko. I’d been meaning to come b-but things popped up and uh, y-yeah. And then I heard that you were being discharged today! S-so I wanted to come visit before it was too late but then I got held up at the train station and I thought I wasn’t going to make it! So I was rushing and it looks like I was too late anyway and then I h-hit you! A-a-and—!” Furihata was rambling now, a stricken look on his face and Akashi took pity on him.

“Thank you, Furihata-kun. I appreciate the kind thought.”

“But I ended up running right into you!” Furihata moaned, covering his face with both hands in dismay. “And you’ve got broken bones! I could have— I could have made things worse! What if I caused irreversible damage? What if you can’t play basketball again?! What if—”

“Furihata-kun,” Akashi cut Furihata off before he could spiral downwards into a never-ending hole. “I was a little… winded just now, but that is all. I will be alright.”

“Y-you sure?” Furihata peeked an eye out of the hands still covering his face.

“I always am.”

“O-okay.”

At Akashi’s reassurance, Furihata’s expression finally relaxed. Just a little bit. He gave a small, nervous smile and lowered his hands to his lap where it continued to twitch. Nothing else was said for a few minutes and the air between them quickly became awkward, neither one of them meeting the other’s gaze.

They were not particularly close, having had little contact before this, the number of times they had properly faced each other standing at a grand total of two (their first meeting didn’t count). The first was the time Furihata was pitched against Akashi in the Winter Cup final and the second, during Kuroko’s birthday party in which they had enjoyed a chat over food and drinks. It _had_ been a nice chat though, Furihata’s initial stiffness melting away (at least a little) and they made small talk after finding out that they had common interests other than basketball, such as books – they both enjoyed reading and Furihata had enthusiastically explained that he was part of the library committee. Most of the conversation after that had been a riveting discussion on their favourite books and authors. Based on this alone, Akashi supposed that amongst all the members in Seirin’s basketball team, not including Kuroko and Kagami, the next person he knew best was probably Furihata.  

Despite this and despite feeling a deep appreciation at Furihata’s effort in taking the time to come visit him when they could hardly even be called friends, Akashi found that he had nothing more to say to the perpetually nervous boy and was beginning to wonder just why Furihata had even decided to turn up at all if he wasn’t going to say anything.

He stole a glance at the brunette sitting on the bench beside him and found the other fidgeting in his seat. Akashi didn’t need his eyes to tell him that the boy was close to having an anxiety attack. Just as Akashi was considering whether he should politely excuse himself to save Furihata from driving himself into heart failure at a young age, Furihata finally spoke up.

“U-um, Akashi?”

“Yes, Furihata-kun?”

The boy paused, wringing the hands in his lap. “I, uh, I-I actually brought something for you.”

Akashi raised an eyebrow. “Oh? This is rather unexpected.” He didn’t expect a get-well soon gift from Furihata of all people. He looked around but Furihata wasn’t carrying anything else on him, not even his bag from school so Akashi couldn’t imagine what Furihata could possibly be giving him.

“Y-yeah, well… it’s something that I wanted you to have. I…um, really enjoyed talking to you the other day. At Kuroko’s party, I mean, and I… uh…” He trailed off hesitantly. 

And then, as if steeling himself to carry out a very dangerous mission, Furihata lifted his head in determination, his eyes meeting Akashi’s dead-on. Despite the startling show of courage, Furihata’s face had gone a brilliant shade of pink, the raging blush filling his round cheeks and travelling all the way up to his ears and Akashi could only stare back at the intense gaze suddenly directed towards him, the full blast of it involuntarily making something in his chest twinge and sending a strange, warm shiver down his spine. Wait, what?

He didn’t have time to address his confusion, however, as Furihata had reached into his pocket and the next thing he knew, both of Furihata’s hands had been thrusted right under Akashi’s nose.

“This!”

The realization struck like lightning. 

Right there on shaky hands, sat a pure-white lucky charm. The kind of charm usually found at shrines.

It was also exactly the one he had seen in his vision, the image from then matching what he was seeing now to a perfect tee.

And all of a sudden, it was as if a veil had been lifted, the shadows in Akashi’s mind clearing instantly as he recognized the head of messy hair currently bowed low in front of him and the dots began to connect, completing the blank spots in his mind’s eye. Akashi couldn’t stop the wide smile spreading across his lips, a strange warmth which had grown familiar over the past few days filling him from deep within.

He reached out for the charm, covering it with his left hand but did not bother to pick it up or pull away and instead, intentionally allowed his touch to linger on top of the stubby-looking fingers holding the charm out.

Furihata’s head whipped up at this and he was gaping like a fish out of water, his face bright red as he stared at the Rakuzan captain. Furihata’s head snapped down to stare at their still-connected hands and then up again at Akashi’s face as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But Akashi remained undeterred.

“Thank you, Furihata-kun. I have never been gifted a charm before.”

“R-really?!” Furihata seemed shocked at Akashi’s words, causing him to temporarily forget his embarrassment. “I got it from the shrine close to where I live. It’s famous for how effective their charms are and this one symbolizes a prayer for speedy recovery.”

“I am sure I will be recovering perfectly well with all the affection everyone has been showering me with. I will treasure this, Furihata-kun.” Akashi finally closed his hand on the charm and pulled away almost regretfully, breaking the contact.

“R-right.” Furihata stuttered, empty hands dropping back down into his lap. He was backing himself up into a shell again, his demeanor turning cripplingly shy but Akashi was having none of that. He would seize this rare chance.

“Since you have taken the trouble to come all this way, I must insist that we use this opportunity to speak more. As I have already discharged myself, would you like to escort me back to my home instead?”

“Your home?! Y-you mean in Kyoto?!”

“No.” Akashi smiled, amused at the innocent shock on Furihata’s face. “My family home is right here in Tokyo. I will not be going back to Kyoto until the weekend.”

“O-oh. I see.” Furihata went quiet, looking unsure of himself.

Akashi pushed on. “Will you give me the pleasure of your company, Furihata-kun? I would like to properly thank you for bringing me such a thoughtful gift.”

“Um… it’s really nothing much...” Furihata was sheepish, the blush on his face worsening by the second. He looked overwhelmed and seemed to have a hard time looking Akashi in the eye, his gaze constantly shifting from the ground to his left or right and back to the ground again.

Now, Akashi had always been an extremely observant person and thus, it went without saying that he already had his guesses as to the reason for Furihata’s suspicious behavior by now. He wasn’t oblivious enough to miss the meaning behind Furihata’s nervous flushes after bearing witness to so many hints. The lucky charm had only further cemented his belief. So if he had read the other boy correctly, then Furihata would not turn this invite down. Or would he?

Akashi felt his skin go cold. It wasn’t often that he doubted himself and he was surprised at the sudden feeling of insecurity taking over his senses. It made him feel uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Just as his mind was about to take a turn for the worst, Furihata spoke again, his next words blowing away all of Akashi’s concerns and making him smile with pride. Furihata may be extremely timid, but he wasn’t by any means weak.

“…I would love to accompany y-you, if you don’t mind, that is?”

“Of course.”

Confidence restored, Akashi stood up and carefully pocketed the charm before holding his uninjured hand out to gesture back at the hospital lobby. “Shall we? My ride has been waiting for me for the last half an hour and they must be wondering about me by now.”

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Furihata immediately got up, following closely behind as Akashi led the way out.

As they walked, Akashi had to exercise control over his usually passive emotions which were now boiling over and overflowing from the little box in which he usually kept his feelings in, his senses heading rapidly into overdrive at the sudden rush of adrenaline. He had to forcefully hold down the uncontrollable excitement bubbling in his chest, willing himself to keep up the calm but authoritative air he was known to exude in public.

Looking back at the jumpy boy following closely behind him, his face still resembling a ripe tomato, Akashi hid a smile. He was well aware of the tingling on his ring finger which hadn’t stopped since his hand had met Furihata’s earlier while accepting the charm, images of possibilities flitting through his mind. 

The two of them may not know each other very well yet but if his visions told the truth (and he was more inclined to believe them now that one of it had materialized), then they had a lot of potential for the future and Akashi found that he would very much like to reach the final goal prophesized by his visions one day. Furihata had taken the brave first step today and Akashi had gladly met him there.

They were moving in the right direction.

 _This_ was going to be his reality. Near-death visions of the future or not, Akashi would make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> I obviously have a bad habit of distracting myself from writing fics I plan on writing by writing something else completely. This idea came to me while writing Misfire and it wouldn’t leave me alone until I got it out! First time writing the GoM! Also, the medical parts of this story might not be correct because I totally made up the reasoning and I’m no doctor! ^^;; Oh, and the ‘charm’ I’m referring to are those omamori which you can usually get at Japanese shrines, just in case anyone was wondering. For some reason, I had this idea where Furihata has stubby-fingers while I was writing this so that ended up in here as well. Lastly, the title of this fic was supposed to be a sort of play on words so instead of ‘flashback’, Akashi experienced a ‘flashforward.’ Uh, does that make sense? =D Hope everyone enjoyed this anyway! Feel free to look me up on Tumblr under the same name!


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